


Failure Isn't An Option

by Meatball42



Category: Avengers Academy (Video Game), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Dubious Morality, Dubious Science, Gen, Recruitment, That's Science!, Timefog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-13
Updated: 2017-05-13
Packaged: 2018-10-28 13:44:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10832481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meatball42/pseuds/Meatball42
Summary: SHIELD is Maria's life... or it will be as soon as she makes it through one little test.





	Failure Isn't An Option

Arriving on the Avengers Academy campus was the realization of years of aspiration and hard work for Maria Hill. Or more specifically, arriving at SHIELD Headquarters was.

“Ms. Hill,” greeted Nick Fury, shaking her hand in the high-domed lobby. “Welcome to SHIELD.”

“It’s an honor, sir,” Maria said earnestly. When the Principal let go of her hand she stood at parade rest, and received a nod of approval.

“It’s a relief to have someone around here who understands the chain of command. Walk with me, Hill.”

Principal Fury led Maria through the halls of SHIELD. She caught glimpses of scientific labs, agents at work, and the occasional Avenger student honing their skills. There was a rumble that went through the walls, but Principal Fury waved away her concern. “That’ll be Rogers breaking all my helicopters,” he said nonchalantly.

Finally, they reached an abandoned-looking hallway, at the end of which was situated a laboratory. Fury swiped a card over a scanner and typed in a long passcode to open the door.

On the outside, Maria remained impassive, but on the inside, she was shaky with excitement.

They entered a brightly lit room, full of clean white surfaces and shiny machines. A pair in white lab coats were working at a bank of microscopes opposite the door, and when they entered one of the pair looked up.

“Director!” the mousy girl said, her eyes big and her smile widening. “We weren’t expecting you. Oh! Is this…”

“Our newest recruit, hopefully,” Principal Fury replied. He looked from Maria to the young scientist. “Hill, this is Jemma Simmons, one of my most trusted researchers.” The girl tilted her head down modestly at the compliment. “Simmons, meet Maria Hill, one of Empire State’s most promising ROTC students.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Simmons said sweetly, coming out from behind the lab bench and taking off a plastic glove to shake Maria’s hand. “Are we testing her today?” she asked Fury.

Maria looked up in surprise, but Principal Fury was nodding. “Shouldn’t take too long. I have the utmost confidence in Ms. Hill.” He gave Maria a half-smile that immediately settled her anxiety.

Simmons bustled around the lab, retrieving a vial of pink-purple gas from a locked cabinet and a strange pair of goggles from a dark drawer. She headed for a corner of the room that had a recliner and a few plush armchairs. At Principal Fury’s nod, Maria sank into a recliner uncertainly.

“Maria,” Simmons said crisply, looking directly at her and sitting with her back professionally straight. “This is part of your preliminary testing to become a student here at Avengers Academy. Of course, you’ll have to go through the standard recruitment process- mostly a lot of standing around!- later on, but you can think of this as a skills measurement. We want to know where you stand currently, and what sort of academic support will best suit you in the future.”

Maria nodded, immediately feeling much more comfortable. She’d always excelled at testing.

“This here,” Simmons held up the vial of purple gas, “is… well, it’s magic. It’s sort of, think of it like a scrying tool. Do you know what scrying is?”

“Seeing the future,” Maria answered promptly.

Principal Fury chuckled, but nodded at Simmons to keep going.

“Exactly,” Simmons agreed. “So this is the test: you breathe in the fog, and you put on these lenses, and you tell us what you see.”

Maria wasn’t the sort of person to squirm, but she did, maybe, shift uncomfortably in her seat. Boundaries were a strength, not a weakness, she told herself. Conviction is not fear. Still, the thought of telling the Principal of Avengers Academy and SHIELD ‘no’ was daunting. She had to look at Simmons instead, when she admitted, “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with this.”

But it was Fury who replied. “Hill,” he said, his deep voice more gentle than she’d imagined it could sound. “I won’t lie to you: nothing at Avengers Academy is safe. But I wouldn’t put you in a position where you’d be in danger without making sure you fully understood the risks. The fog is harmless in small doses. All Avengers recruits are tested with it.”

Simmons cleared her throat, and Maria saw she was glaring- glaring!- at Principle Fury, who huffed. “Excuse me,” he said somewhat ironically. “All of our students who are recruited through the standard process go through this testing. There are more who we have to take on in times of crisis. But those students I personally recruit, like yourself,” he said, looking Maria dead in the eye, “are my most trusted students here. They’re the ones I ask when I have missions I can’t rely on anyone else to take.”

Maria’s breathing sped up slightly as feelings of honor and loyalty rose in her chest. Being a part of SHIELD, a trusted agent, a credit to the cause, was everything she’d ever dreamed of. And if she had to sniff a little magic mist to get there? So be it.

She stuck her hands out to Simmons, reaching for the goggles and the vial. “Okay. I’m in.”

The last thing she saw as Simmons helped her put on the dark goggles was Principal Fury’s proud smile.

The last thing she remembered before blinking into the sunlight on the quad, was an unknown voice saying,  _"Yes Director Hill!”_


End file.
